Trap shooting device



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

@.DB QUILLFBLDT.- l TRAP SHOOTING'DEVIGB.

No. 466,257. Patented Dee. Z9, 1891.

INVENTF me Noms mans co4, vnofmno., msmmmm, u. c.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

o. DE QUILLFELDT.

TRAP ,SHOOTING DEVICE.

WITNEEE1E5= m: noms versus co., vamo-wma, wumusrorf, u. x:A

on an enlarged scale.

Uivrrn'n STATESv i 'PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES DEVQUILLFELDT, OF AMITYVILLE, NEW YORK.

TRAP SHOOTING D EVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 466,257, dated December 29, 1891. Application led June 19, 1891. Serial No. 396,867. (No model.)

resident of Amityville, in the county of Sui'- t'olk and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trap Shooting Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

vMy invention consists in improved apparatus comprising dummy-birds, means for moving them in a short flight through the air as if natural birds rising from a trap, and means for automatically throwing the birds from the moving statt and dropping them on the ground as dead birds when and by the eiect of being hit in a part corresponding to a vital part in a ,live bird, all as hereinafter fully described, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is an elevation of the apparatus as in the act of causing the flight of the bird in side view to an observer. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the apparatus as in the flight of an incoming bird-that is, one flying toward the observer. The apparatus is also seen in the saine View when the bird is moved as a driver or from the observer, the bird being reversed and the staifbeing moved in the reverse direction. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of apparatus for setting, tripping, and swinging the bird-carrying statt, part only of the latter being shown. Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section of the apparatus for thrusting off the so-called killed bird, passing in side View verse section ot' the apparatus for thrusting oft the killed incomer or driver, also on an enlarged scale. Fig. 6 is a horizontal section of the apparatus of Fig. 5y on `line 0c a'. Fig.

7 is a sidey elevation of the apparatus for set-y ting, tripping, andlswnsingthe bird-Carrying; sta, showinga modied arrangement of some rangement of Fig. 7 on an enlarged scale. Fig.

l0 is a section of the vent-plug of the airspring enlarged; and Fig. l1 is an elevation f of the complete apparatus, including a screen Fig. 5 is a vertical trans-` for concealing the sameso that the bird will not be seen by the one who shoots until started on its light.

0n any approved stand ct I pivot a bird-carrying staff b, as at c, Figs. l, 2, and 3, or as Yat d, Figs. 7 and 1l,so as to swing freely from behind a screen a and preferably from a horizontal position at one side of said stand to a similar position at the outer side either way, said staff having in the former case a counterbalancing-arm e, extending downward from the pivot, but in the latter case having the pivot at its lower end and provided with an air-spring device as a substitute forthe counter-balance. The sta is made in suitable length for swinging a driving bird attached to the end of the long arm to a height giving the sportsman a fair shot, and is provided with a strong spring g for so swinging it, said spring being attached at one end to the stand and at the other end to the staff in any approved way or arrangement for effecting the purpose in Figs. l, 2, and 3. It is connected to the weighted arm e and to stud 71, at the right hand of the axis of the arm for swinging the staff from right to left and to stud i at the lefthand ot the axis for swinging the statt in the reverse direction, the connection being readily detachable, as by a hook, for allowing the change to be readily made, and it is connectedto the arm e by a clamp j, that is adjustable along said arm for Varying the leverage ot' the spring for lighter or heavier birds and for varying the speed of the flight. The end of the spring connected to the arm of the staff swings across the vertical plane of the axis of the arm when the staff crosses said plane under the impetus iniparted to it in the iirst part of the action of the spring which then reaches the limit of its contraction, and during the rest of the movement of the staff the spring pulls on the arm e and gradually retards the motion of the staff, so as to stop it gently about when it reaches the horizontal position again, or when the bird strikes the ground incase it is not shot off.

vThere is a holdingand tripping latch k or Z to engage and hold the stai in the set position, Fig. 3, until word is given that the man who shoots is ready, when the latch is zo i ag-A

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tripped by the attendant with a line m.. 1n Figs. 1, 2, and 3 the staff has a hub n, in which the latch engages to hold it, said latch being pivoted at p in the top of the standard and having the cord attached to the outer end, said cord extending through the guidepulley q and thence to the place where the attendant stands.

In Fig. 7there are two latches l, one of which is used when the staff is set to the right-hand and the other when it is set to the left. They are set upright on the pivots tand hook onto the stali or a stud projecting from its side-by the notch s, and have a spring u under the the short arm w to maintain the connection with the staff until tripped. The cord on has in this ease a branch to each latch connected in the eye a: for tripping the staff.

The air-spring to be used as auxiliary to the coiled spring and for controlling and checking the movements of the staff when the counterbalance device of Figs. 1, 2, and 3 is not employed consists of the hollow cylinder f, pivoted to the stand d at y and containing the piston z, having the usual cup-packing 2, the rod 3 extending out through the head 4 of the free end of the cylinder and connected by a pivot-joint 5 with the staff b, and between the piston and said head there is a short buffer-spri11g6,that cornesinto action against said head just before the staif comes to the end of its range for powerfully re-enforcing the retarding action of the piston and the spring g to stop the staff gently when it goes down with the bird. Said spring also aids springg powerfully in starting the staff when tripped. The air-spring is a retarder also on the 4upstroke to prevent the spring gfrom thrusting the sta too quickly. lts action is graduated by the vent at the upper end of the cylinder controlled by the vent-plug D, which, being screwed in and out of the shell of the cylinder, opens or closes the passage lO more or less, as required, to limit the inlet of air on the downstroke and cause a partial vacuum to act together with the buffer-spring to stop the staff, and on the upstroke the plug limits the exit of the air, and when the staff passes over its pivot-center checks the staff a little before it begins its descent on the other side. The air-spring is also adapted to be used alone to actuate the staff independently of the coiled spring.

For mounting the birds on the staff so as to be released by the effect of shot striking them, various contrivances maybe employed. For example, the bird 11 for passing in side view has a small short vertical stud fr projecting from under the middle of the body suitably to enter a socket 12 on the top of the staif containing a coiled spring 13, to be compressed by said stud when inserted in the socket, and from the side of the body a catchhook 14, pivoted at 15, extends downward a suitable distance to catch on a collar 16 or other suitably-projecting device on the exterior of the socket when said stud is fully en- -passing in side View.

tered in the socket. Above the pivot of the catch-hook a thin metal plate 17, which I call a tripping-plate, is attached, so as to be in side view of the one who shoots, the area of which plate .is equal to that of the vital portions of the body of a bird, so that it will be struck when the aim is such that a vital part of a bird would be hit, and will be forced back by the shot and will disconnect. the catch 14 from the collar 1G and release the spring, which will throw the bird off to fall on the ground in about the same action as alive Vbird is projected by its momentum prior to its fall when fatally hit. rlhere is a light spring 18 behind plate 17 to prevent the aocidental escape of the catch 14 until struck by the shot. i

I have only represented the catch and tripping-plate on one side of the bird; but each side may of course be furnished alike, so that the bird maybe shot off in the movement of the staif in either direction; but it may also be shot off by being hit 011 the side not having the tripping-plate by the thrust of the bird in the direction of the plate caused by the impact of the shot, when the inertia of the plate will cause the catch to be disconnected; but in such case the whole area of the bird exposed to the shot would be eil'ective for releasing the catch.

While the abovedescribed apparatus may be employed with goed results for releasing and throwing off incoming or driving birds 31,1 have represented another form of apparatus for these cases, in which a head 20 of the upper end of the staff, the socket 12 being detached, is inserted through a hole in the under side plate 21 of the bird, up through a steadying-tube 22, and through one or the other of the holes 23 in a catch-pla, ,-h 24, carried on the tripping-plates 25, piv ted at 2G on a fixed support 27, so as to be shifted one way or the other, according as one or the other is struck by the shot, said catch-plate having a narrow slit 2S, (dotted, Fig. (5,) in

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which the neck 29 of the statf is set when the bird is applied, so that the head holds the bird on the staff against the throwing-off spring 30, which is compressed when the bird is put on the staff ready for throwing it off when tripped, which is effected by the tripping-plates, which shift the catch-plate one way or the other, according as one or the other is struck by the shot, so that one or the other of the holes 23 is brought under the head of the staff, permitting the catch-plate to escape and the bird to be thrown 01T. This latter form of apparatus for applying the bird to the staff and for tripping it may also be used in lieu of the other first described for the bird It will be seen that the staff is fitted for both these forms of fastening and tripping devices, the head 2O and the spring 30 being adapted for the devices of Figs. 2, 5, and 6, the spring being attached to permit the spring-holding socket 12 of Figs.

the staff sufficiently below the upper end to 1, 2, 4, 7, and 11 to be placed on the sta above it, said spring being compressed to make room for the socket. Y

It is obvious thatv the arrangement of the spring for throwing od the bird may be modified in various ways-as, for instance, it may be located in the bird so as to be detached along with the bird from the stad.V 'i

Instead of the arrangement of the statt and its pivot for swinging the statt in a vertical plane, they may be such that the bird will swing in a horizontal or an inclined plane.

I claiml. In a trap .shooting apparatus, the combination .of an automatic -bird-moving stad, an automaton bird detachably attached thereto, an automatic bird-detaching device, and a tripping-plate torlreleasing the detaching device by the impulse of the shot hitting it, substantially as described,

2. In a trap shooting apparatus, the combination of the automatic bird-movin g stal, an automaton bird detachably attached thereto, a` screen concealing the bird in the start, an automatic bird-detaching device, and a tripping-plate for releasing the detaching device by the impulse of the shot hitting it, substanf tially as described.

, 3. In a trap shooting apparatus, the combination of the automatic bird-moving sta, an automaton bird detachably attached thereto, a catch holding the bird on the statt, a tripping-plate attached to the catch ,and exposed to be struck by the shot, and a spring to throw the bird oft from the stad when released by the tripping-plate, substantially as described.

4. In a trap shooting apparatus, the combination of the pivoted automaticbird-moving statt', an automaton bird detachably attached theret o, a spring actuating the statt', and a setting and tripping. latch and cord, said actuatingspring arranged to cross the middle plane of the range of the staff and retard the statt in the latter part of its movement, substantially as described.

'5. In a trap shooting apparatus, the combination of the pivoted automatic bird-moving staff, an automaton bird detachably attached thereto, a spring actuatingrthe stati?, a setting and tripping latch and cord, said actuatingspring arranged to cross the middle plane of the range of the staft'in the latter part of its movement,and an auxiliary retarder, substantially as described.

' 6. In a trap shooting apparatus, the combination of the pivoted automatic bird-moving stad, an automaton bird detachably attached thereto, avcoiled springand an auxiliary pneumatic spring actuating the staff, and a setting and tripping latch and cord, substantially asv described.

' 7. 'In a trap shooting apparatus, the combinationof the pivoted automatic bird-moving staff, an automaton bird detachably attached thereto, a spring actuating the statt, a setting and tripping latch. and cord, said actuatingspring arranged to cross the middle planeof the range of the statt and retard the stati' in the latter part of its movement, and a pneumatic auxiliary retarder, substantially as described.

. 8. In a trap shooting apparatus, the combination ot' the pivoted automatic bird-moving statt, an automaton bird detachably attached thereto, a coiled spring and an auxiliary pneumatic spring actuating the staff, and a setting f and tripping latch and cord, said spring arranged to crossthe middle plane of the range of the staff and retard the statt in the latter part of its movement, substantially as described. y

9. In a trap shooting apparatus, the combination of the pivoted automatic bird-moving staff, an automaton bird detachably attached thereto, a coiled spring and an auxiliary pneumatic spring actuating the staff, a settingand tripping latch and cord, said springs arranged to cross the middle plane of the range of the stai and retard the sta in the latter part of its movement, and the coiled butter-spring in the pneumatic spring, substantially as de- 

